Door pivot assembly

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates generally to pivot assemblies for swinging doors, and more particularly to improvements in pivot assemblies for use with door members, the pivoted vertical edge of which, when the door is in closed position, is in substantial abutting relation with a vertical door frame. An embodiment of the invention disclosed herein includes a crank arm, a link member having one end pivotally connected with the crank arm, mounting means for supporting the crank arm and link member upon a horizontal door frame member. Fixed pivot means is associated with the mounting means and is connected with the opposite extremity of the link. Crank actuating means attachable to the corner of the door member is coupled with the crank member whereby when the door member swings about the crank axis in a given direction the vertical door edge will move away from the door frame.

United States Patent Johnson et al.

14 1 May 16, 1972 [54] DOOR PIVOT ASSEMBLY [73] Assignee: Lawrence Brothers, Inc., Sterling, Ill. [22] Filed: Sept. 23, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 74,712

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 381,829 11/1964 Switzerland ..l6/l5l Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay Assistant Examiner-Doris L. Troutman Attorney0lson, Trexler, Wolters & Bushnell [5 7] ABSTRACT The present invention relates generally to pivot assemblies for swinging doors, and more particularly to improvements in pivot assemblies for use with door members, the pivoted vertical edge of which, when the door is in closed position, is in substantial abutting relation with a vertical door frame. An embodiment of the invention disclosed herein includes a crank arm, a link member having one end pivotally connected with the crank arm, mounting means for supporting the crank arm and link member upon a horizontal door frame member. Fixed pivot means is associated with the mounting means and is connected with the opposite extremity of the link. Crank actuating means attachable to the corner of the door member is coupled with the crank member whereby when the door member swings about the crank axis in a given direction the vertical door edge will move away from the door frame.

9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There are instances in which it is very desirable to have the vertical edge of a swingable door, when in closed position, located in substantial abutment with the adjacent door frame member. This abutting relationship of the hinged edge of a door with the adjacent vertical door frame has a very practical application where it is desirable to reduce to a minimum the obviousness of the presence of a door in a paneled wall. In such installations it is not uncommon for the plane of the door face to be coincident with the plane of the wall surface, and it is important to reduce to a minimum the space between the edges of the door with the complementary adjacent surfaces of the door frame. If the hinged edge of a conventional door is in substantial abutting relation with the adjacent vertical door frame, a conventional door hinge cannot be used without exposing a portion of the hinge hardware.

Standard door pivot devices, as distinguished from hinges, have heretofore been available which possess the inherent disadvantage of necessitating the provision of considerable space between the vertical door frame and the pivoted edge of the door member in order to afford proper clearance. Another standard practice has been to round or bevel the vertical corners of the pivoted door edge to avoid interference of these corners with the door frame. Obviously, neither of these standard type installations permit substantial abutting relation of the flat pivoted door edge with the door frame. It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide door pivot assemblies of economical and practical design which will avoid the aforesaid and other disadvantages and inconveniences.

More specifically the present invention contemplates a door pivot assembly of the type referred to above wherein a novel, relatively simple crank and link arrangement composed of relatively few elements may be employed to effect shifting of a door member as an incident to swinging movement thereof.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved, practical door pivot assembly of the type set forth above which will be completely hidden from view after installation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a swingable door member equipped with applicants novel door pivot assembly at the upper and lower corners thereof;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective, fragmentary view of the lower left hand corner of the door member disclosed in FIG. 1, with the door member shown elevated from the horizontal door frame for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the structural features of the pivot assembly;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, with the door member lowered to its normal operative position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of the lower mounting plate and the link and crank members accommodated thereby;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the lower mounting plate and the link and crank elements associated therewith, the closed position of the door member being indicated by dot and dash lines;

FIG. 6 is a plan view similar to FIG. 5, showing the successive positions of the door member by dot and dash lines as it is swung in a counterclockwise direction until the link and crank members occupy the disclosed relative positions;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIGS. 5 and 6, disclosing the door member by dot and dash lines after said member has been moved through 90 from the position shown in FIG. 5; and,

FIG. 8 is a view disclosing the link and crank members in an initial position which will permit swinging of the door member in a'clockwise direction through as indicated by the directional arrow.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings more in detail wherein like numerals have been employed to designate similar parts throughout the various figures, it will be seen that one embodiment of a door pivot assembly of the type contemplated by the present invention is designated generally by the numeral 10, FIGS. 1 and 3. The assembly 10 includes a mounting structure designated generally by the numeral 12 adapted to be secured to or nested within the horizontal door frame member 14. The assembly 10 also includes a crank actuator device designated generally by the numeral 16 which has a vertical plate section 18 adapted to be secured by means of screw fasteners 20 to the pivoted edge of a door member 22. The crank actuator device 16 also includes a horizontal plate section 24 which, as shown in FIG. 3, extends along the bottom corner of the door member 22. The device 16 is in the nature of an angle bracket which may be secured both to the lower comer of the door as well as to the upper corner thereof as shown in FIG. 1. For purposes of illustration it will suffice to describe the door pivot assembly for the lower corner of the door 22.

The lower edge of the door 22 is provided with a recess 26 for accommodating a multi-sided crank shaft 28 extending upwardly from a crank member 30. The free extremity of the crank 30 is pivotally coupled at 32 with one extremity of a link member 34. The opposite extremity of the link member 34 is pivotally coupled with a pin extending between a pair of lower and upper mounting place members 38 and 40 respectively. Particular attention is directed to the fact that the crank member 30 and the link member 34 are housed within a recess 42 provided in the upper side of the lower mounting plate member 38. Suitable screws 44 serve to secure the upper mounting plate member 40 to the lower mounting plate member 38. Additional screw members 46 extend through both of the plate members 38 and 40 and into the horizontal door frame 14. The door frame 14 may be suitably recessed to accommodate the mounting structure or unit 12 as clearly shown in FIG. 3, with the upper surface of the plate member 40 positioned in a plane substantially coincident with the plane of the upper surface of the horizontal door frame member 14. It will also be noted that the horizontal plate section 24 of the crank actuating device 16 rests upon a shoulder bearing 48 provided by the crank shaft 28. An aperture 50 in the actuating plate 24 serves to accommodate the crank shaft 28 and conforms in non-circular cross-section with that of the shaft 28. Thus when the door 22 experiences swinging movement it will impart rotation to the shank 28.

The mounting plate 40 is provided with a longitudinal slot or recess 52 for guiding lateral movement of the shank 28 when rotation is imparted thereto. It will be apparent from the foregoing description that as the door member 22 swings in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6, from the closed position shown in FIG. 5, rotation will also be imparted to the crank shaft 28. This will cause the shaft to move from the position shown in FIG. 5, to the position shown in FIG. 6. During this period of rotation the link member 34 cooperates with the crank 30 in forcing the crank shaft 28, and consequently the door member 22 away from the vertical door frame member 54. Thus the pivoted edge of the door 22 immediately shifts away from the adjacent vertical door frame member 54 as rotation is imparted to the crank shaft 28. As the link 34 and crank 30 move from the position shown in FIG. 6, to the position shown in FIG. 7, the door member will have been swung through 90 from its original closed position shown in FIG. 5. The peripheral walls defining the recess 42 limit the extent to which the link and crank arm may be shifted, namely: from the position shown in FIG. 5, to the position shown in FIG. 7.

In applications where it is required that the door member 22 swing in the opposite direction from that described above, it is only necessary to initially position the crank 30 and link 34 as shown in FIG. 8. From this position the door 22 may be swung in a clockwise direction from the closed position shown in FIG. 8, through 90 as previously explained.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention contemplates the provision of a unique and very simple, yet sturdy, crank arm and link pin arrangement which make it possible to produce pivot assemblies at minimum cost. The crank actuating bracket member as well as the structure for accommodating the crank and link members may be associated with the door and horizontal frame members with the exercise of minimum skill and effort.

We claim:

1. A pivot assembly for a door member, the pivoted vertical edge of which, when the door member is in closed position, is in substantial abutting relation with a vertical door frame member, said assembly including crank means, link means I having one extremity pivotally connected with the extremity of said crank means, mounting means for supporting said crank and link means upon a horizontal door frame member, fixed pivot means associated with said mounting means, the opposite extremity of said link means being pivotally coupled with said fixed pivot means, crank actuating means attachable to the corner portion of a door member, and means coupling said crank and crank actuating means whereby when an associated door member swings about the crank axis in a given direction, said crank and link means coact to move the vertical door edge away from the door frame.

2. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1, wherein the crank means is shiftable laterally with respect to the crank axis in response to swinging of the door member.

3. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1, wherein means for coupling said crank means and crank actuating means includes a shank member extending into a complementary aperture in the crank actuating means.

4. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1, wherein means for coupling the crank means and crank actuating means includes a non-circular shank member extending from the crank member into a complementary non-circular aperture in the crank actuating means.

5. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1 wherein the crank actuating means includes a plate member adapted for attachment to the horizontal edge of a door member, and the means for coupling said crank actuating plate member with said crank means includes a shank member extending from said crank means into a complementary aperture in said plate member.

6. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1, wherein the mounting means includes one section for accommodating said crank and link means and another section provided with a guideway for guiding lateral movement of said crank means.

7. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 6, wherein the two sections of the mounting means are in the nature of superimposed plate members secured together as a unit.

8. A pivot assembly for a door member, the pivoted vertical edge of which, when the door member is in closed position, is in substantial abutting relation with a vertical door frame member, said assembly including cooperative crank and link means, mounting means for supporting said crank and link means upon a horizontal door frame member, pivot means for said link means associated with said mounting means, crank actuating means attachable to the comer portion of a door member, and means coupling said crank and link means with said crank actuating means whereby when an associated door member swings about the crank axis in a given direction, said crank and link means coact to move the vertical door edge away from the door frame.

9. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 8, wherein the means coupling the crank and link means with the crank actuating means includes a crank shaft engageable with said crank actuating means. 

1. A pivot assembly for a door member, the pivoted vertical edge of which, when the door member is in closed position, is in substantial abutting relation with a vertical door frame member, said assembly including crank means, link means having one extremity pivotally connected with the extremity of said crank means, mounting means for supporting said crank and link means upon a horizontal door frame member, fixed pivot means associated with said mounting means, the opposite extremity of said link means being pivotally coupled with said fixed pivot means, crank actuating means attachable to the corner portion of a door member, and means coupling said crank and crank actuating means whereby when an associated door member swings about the crank axis in a given direction, said crank and link means coact to move the vertical door edge away from the door frame.
 2. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1, wherein the crank means is shiftable laterally with respect to the crank axis in response to swinging of the door member.
 3. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1, wherein means for coupling said crank means and crank actuating means includes a shank member extending into a complementary aperture in the crank actuating means.
 4. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1, wherein means for coupling the crank means and crank actuating means includes a non-circular shank member extending from the crank member into a complementary non-circular aperture in the crank actuating means.
 5. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1, wherein the crank actuating means includes a plate member adapted for attachment to the horizontal edge of a doOr member, and the means for coupling said crank actuating plate member with said crank means includes a shank member extending from said crank means into a complementary aperture in said plate member.
 6. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 1, wherein the mounting means includes one section for accommodating said crank and link means and another section provided with a guideway for guiding lateral movement of said crank means.
 7. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 6, wherein the two sections of the mounting means are in the nature of superimposed plate members secured together as a unit.
 8. A pivot assembly for a door member, the pivoted vertical edge of which, when the door member is in closed position, is in substantial abutting relation with a vertical door frame member, said assembly including cooperative crank and link means, mounting means for supporting said crank and link means upon a horizontal door frame member, pivot means for said link means associated with said mounting means, crank actuating means attachable to the corner portion of a door member, and means coupling said crank and link means with said crank actuating means whereby when an associated door member swings about the crank axis in a given direction, said crank and link means coact to move the vertical door edge away from the door frame.
 9. A pivot assembly for a door member as set forth in claim 8, wherein the means coupling the crank and link means with the crank actuating means includes a crank shaft engageable with said crank actuating means. 